Jeff Levine

Why You SHOULDN’T Leave Your Roth IRA to Charity

As part of your estate plan, you may be considering leaving some of your assets to a charity. This is a fairly common part of many estate plans, and is often shaped by one’s experiences during life. Certainly, leaving money to a charitable organization as part of your last request is commendable no matter how you decide to go about doing so. That said, if you’re going to do it, you should do it wisely.

September’s Top 10 Retirement Facts and Figures

We are beginning a new monthly feature - a content creation stream of each month's best retirement and retirement planning facts and figures. Before each fact, you’ll find my own brief commentary, and after each fact, you’ll find the original article from which the fact was pulled should you be interested in further reading.

Special Needs Trusts vs. ABLE Accounts – Which is Better?

ABLE (Achieve a Better Living Experience) accounts are a brand new type of tax-favored savings account created to benefit young disabled persons. One of the questions that has been asked with increasing frequency is, “Should I use a special needs trust or an ABLE account to safeguard my money [for my special needs beneficiary]?” We outline 5 key areas to consider, along with a brief description of whether an ABLE account or special needs trust gets the edge in that area.

Who Pays the Tax on Inherited IRA Distributions If You Leave Your IRA to a Trust?

For a variety of reasons, you might be considering naming a trust as your IRA beneficiary. If that’s the case, then chances are that you have questions about how, exactly, that would work. One of the most common questions people have when they name a trust as their IRA beneficiary is, “Who will pay the tax on the inherited IRA distributions? The trust, or the trust beneficiaries?” We answer that question in this article.

5 Most Common Questions About Owning Gold Within an IRA

It’s been a roller coaster of a few weeks for many investors, and anytime that’s the case, the subject of owning gold always seems to come up. With that in mind, today we share answers to five of the most common questions asked regarding to owning gold within an IRA.

Roth Conversion in Market Downturn: Heads You Win, Tails The Government Loses!

As you are probably aware by now, the stock market has been on a bit of a downturn as of late (to say the least). It’s no fun to lose money in the market, but if you’re investing for the long haul, losses are bound to happen from time to time. If you’re quick on your feet, however, you can turn the proverbial lemons into lemonade by taking actions now to make the most of a bad situation. Here's how.

The Definitive Guide to the “Back-Door Roth”

Chances are that, by now, you’ve heard of a retirement planning strategy known to many as the “Back-Door Roth.” But what is it? Why is it important? What are the potential traps and how can it benefit clients? In this report, we dive deep into answering each of these questions and more.

Does a Five-Year Holding Period Apply to Each Roth Conversion?

This week's Slott Report Mailbag, coming to you live from our 2-Day IRA Workshop in Philadelphia, contains questions from consumers screaming (sometimes literally) for help! In several cases, the issues involve the magic age of 59 1/2 and cover a variety of topics, including life insurance issues, 72(t) payments with a divorce and the Roth IRA 5-year rules.

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